Readers here now

JV Volleyball: Perseverence, teamwork, desire -- The Come Back Kids

Photos by Dana KallmeyerPersonal Note: I would like to thank Dana Kallmeyer for the photos as well as Dave Shockley and Kent Vedder for providing the updated scores and results. We could not have provided the coverage without them. Thank you all so very much.

The future of New Haven Volleyball could not look any brighter than it does right now. The Junior Varsity team has won both the Linn Tournament and most recently the Pacific Tournament. Currently they are undefeated with a record of 13-0-1.

The Rocks have shown they are able to come back in games when they are down, put teams away, and most of all play together as a team. One night Emily Kallmeyer may have an outstanding game and another night it maybe Mackenzy Vedder. The best teams that have came along in any sport always find a way to win. Whether it is Taylor Covington going up in perfect form and making one block at a crucial moment in a match or Meghan Brown serving an ace late in the game to break a tie. This team as a whole do not seem to care about who gets the credit or who’s name is mentioned online but care about one thing, winning.

Coach Jaime Hoener came out of retirement for one day to help out Coach Dennis Carey and Coach Sharen Speckhals by coaching the JV team in the Pacific Tournament while Carey coached the freshmen and Speckhals the varsity. We spoke with Coach Hoener that evening about the team’s performance.

The Rocks cruised through their first to games defeating St. James (25-11, 25-10) and Salem (25-15, 25-13). The team would lose only their second set of the season against Owensville in the first match 17-25. The second game was a “nail bitter”. Coach Hoener said, “These girls just never give up. The Owensville game was one of many examples today when we had to come from behind to win.” The rocks out worked Owensville coming out with a 26-24 win and advancing to bracket play.

They played Pacific in their first game winning both sets, but not without coming from behind in the first set, down 4-10 and advance to the championship match against Herculaneum.

Coach Hoener said, “The first we had to come from behind again, just like we had done all day we persevered. It was not like one person doing it all; it was like wow she got the kill. That’s how they played all day long.”

The first set of the championship match the Rocks did what they had done all day long, come from behind to win. (25-23). In the second set, they came out playing hard and Herculaneum pretty well rolled over and the Rocks rolled to another tournament Championship.

Tomorrow night they will play their second conference game against the rivaled Hermann Bearcats. The JV game will start in Hermann at 5:30 p.m.